1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mobile telephone system and more particularly relates to a phone system including means for regulating access to said telephone system utilising a coin acceptor module means to enable interphasing of accessories onto the phone set and means to enable removal of coinage from the set.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are in existence many types of access control phone systems commonly termed pay phones. These are generally in use as public phones and utilise a direct electric line for signal transfer when in operation. Other known access control devices in direct line phones comprise key lock systems which block the signal transfer when in the locked position. The direct line phone systems have been in use for a considerable time with the major most recent advance and departure from these conventional phones being the radio phone.
The introduction of the radio phone enables the installation of mobile phones in vehicles and the production of household mobile phones which are transportable and used within a given distance range. Whilst these phones have been applied for business, domestic and vehicle use, it is less common for a mobile phone system which has an access control system to be utilised in vehicles and adapted thereto to enable public use of such phones.
There are nevertheless, in existence, mobile cellular phones having a standard subscriber station which comprises a customer administrative input and display apparatus, a data modem, a local administrative processor for controlling the station either for or in support of credit card billing and for conducting two way high speed data communication with the central administrative processor and which can be reached by a direct dial telephone call. One such system is disclosed in Australian Patent Application No. 79214/89 by ARLENE J. HARRIS.
That system also provides, for the generation of control signals and billing data, defining the individual customer accounts and also a register for storing billing data. Australian Patent 577732 also discloses a mobile radio communication system which comprises a plurality of fixed stations respectively connected to a plurality of subscriber lines extending from a telephone exchange and a plurality of mobile stations linked with the fixed stations through radio channels. Each fixed station has means for transmitting rate charging information with rate collecting means being responsive to the rate charging information to vary its content.
Although each of the systems referred to have means for enabling access by a caller to the system and/or means for recording billing data, none are provided with a coin acceptance facility as a means of access control nor with a facility for enabling interphasing of peripherals such as fax machines and computers to the phone set.